Xavier College drug dealer 'a victim'

A boy expelled from Xavier College for selling marijuana to three other students is a victim, according to his parents.

"The whole thing is incredibly unfair," his mother told the Herald Sun.

The 17-year-old, who reportedly admits to using drugs on his MySpace website, has been caught in the middle of a scandal at the exclusive Melbourne Catholic college.

"To victimise a child like this is incredibly unfair," his mother added.

The school is under criticism for not alerting police to the matter when the year-11 student was thrown out of the school earlier this year.

Police at the school yesterday seized a small amount of cannabis, which had been held there since being confiscated from the student in late February.

The college released a statement last night saying it was now co-operating with police.

Xavier deputy head Dominic Calipari said he did not consider notifying the police at the time of the incident, but he added that he may have acted differently if it involved "different kinds of drugs".

Sen-Sgt Tom Ebinger from the drug and alcohol strategy unit said any serious criminal activity should have been reported to police.

"Victoria Police take the view that trafficking of a drug is a serious offence and should be reported to them," he said.

Although state schools are obliged to inform police of any suspected crime, independent schools are permitted to make the decision themselves.

"This incident has highlighted an issue that needs to be addressed and it will certainly be discussed in the future," Ebinger said.

Drug counsellor Richard Smith, of the Raymond Hader Clinic, told the newspaper he had treated many students from independent schools.

"Private schools are no different. I'm not shocked. It's common for me to have young people from leading schools," he said.

Victoria Premier Steve Bracks said yesterday the school was entitled to decide whether or not it wanted police to investigate.

"Private schools are independent and private, they operate independently like every other private company does in the country, so they have to make decisions themselves on what they report," Bracks said.